Indoctrination is not the real issue in public school lessons on Islam (COMMENTARY)

[CopyBoy]

(RNS) Opponents of lessons on Islam often claim that Christianity takes a back seat in public schools’ religious instruction. That’s what an Augusta County, Va., mother argued recently when she opposed a teacher’s use of the Muslim statement of belief in a calligraphy exercise. She held a forum at a local church to protest how her religion wasn’t allowed in schools, but Islam was.

Evidence, however, points to the contrary.

A much bigger problem is pro-Christian and anti-Muslim bias that some educators may bring into the classroom. Sometimes that bias, promoted by policymakers involved in textbook adoption or aimed at a Muslim student in a classroom, is intentional. Other times, teachers may be unaware how their personal beliefs can color the way they teach.

religionnews.com/2016/01/14/indoctrination-not-real-issue-public-school-lessons-islam-commentary/

 

[Piney_Woods]

“*Instead of throwing around accusations of indoctrination when the intent is clearly teaching and not preaching, let’s have reasoned dialogue about the best way to teach about religion. Let’s provide more resources and training to teachers…”
*
Better yet, how about we drop all the painfully politically correct nonsense period? Rather than teaching children about the Five Pillars or reading “King and King” to them, let’s teach them math, reading, critical thinking, history, art, and music.
Some teachers may indeed have the intent of teaching rather than preaching, but I doubt that is always the case.

 

[Ontheway]

I have direct experience with instruction at more than two dozen public schools, and I have witnessed first hand substantial indoctrination of all kinds, ranging from promoting LGBT to bashing Catholicism (mostly in history classes) to various forms of what I would call left-wing anti-Americanism.
A lot of it is not necessarily part of the curriculum, but comes at the initiative of the overzealous teachers, many of whom represent the left wing of the political spectrum and try hard to promote this ideology.
In promoting Islam, these folks are directly or indirectly contributing to the overall effort to diminish or negate the role of Christianity in our culture.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

“*Instead of throwing around accusations of indoctrination when the intent is clearly teaching and not preaching, let’s have reasoned dialogue about the best way to teach about religion. Let’s provide more resources and training to teachers…”
*
Better yet, how about we drop all the painfully politically correct nonsense period? Rather than teaching children about the Five Pillars or reading “King and King” to them, let’s teach them math, reading, critical thinking, history, art, and music.
Some teachers may indeed have the intent of teaching rather than preaching, but I doubt that is always the case.

What? We live in a diverse country and an ever shrinking world. Islam is so relevant to a child’s education. So is Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. You can’t understand history, culture, art, the current state of global affairs, or people without understanding the basics of what they hold dear and how they view the world. Always err on the side of teaching more, not less.

A high school level world religions class with a teacher who underwent special training to be unbiased and academic in the teaching would be great for everyone really.

 

[Regina7]

What? We live in a diverse country and an ever shrinking world. Islam is so relevant to a child’s education. So is Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. You can’t understand history, culture, art, the current state of global affairs, or people without understanding the basics of what they hold dear and how they view the world. Always err on the side of teaching more, not less.

A high school level world religions class with a teacher who underwent special training to be unbiased and academic in the teaching would be great for everyone really.

Unbiased? I’m an educator, and I’ve never seen an unbiased history teacher.

 

[JonNC]

“*Instead of throwing around accusations of indoctrination when the intent is clearly teaching and not preaching, let’s have reasoned dialogue about the best way to teach about religion. Let’s provide more resources and training to teachers…”
*
Better yet, how about we drop all the painfully politically correct nonsense period? Rather than teaching children about the Five Pillars or reading “King and King” to them, let’s teach them math, reading, critical thinking, history, art, and music.
Some teachers may indeed have the intent of teaching rather than preaching, but I doubt that is always the case.

I agree with dropping the PC nonsense, but the fact is if we are going to educate children to be culturally literate, they need to be instructed in and know about all the things that make up our culture. They also need to know about the things that make up the world’s cultures.

As a teacher, I take great pleasure in teaching in a school that uses the Core Knowledge Sequence, which teaches these important things without the PC nonsense.
Jon

 

[Piney_Woods]

What? We live in a diverse country and an ever shrinking world. Islam is so relevant to a child’s education. So is Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. You can’t understand history, culture, art, the current state of global affairs, or people without understanding the basics of what they hold dear and how they view the world. Always err on the side of teaching more, not less.

A high school level world religions class with a teacher who underwent special training to be unbiased and academic in the teaching would be great for everyone really.

Islam, Hindusim, etc. is so not relevant to a child who can not read, write, perform and understand basic math functions and think critically. How is a teacher supposed to cram in the PC training when so many kids lack proficiency in these basics, not to mention arts education? Do we keep them in school (i.e., away from their mothers and fathers, assuming their one of the lucky few to still have both parents in the home) more hours every day?
I have friends who teach public school, so I’m not just pulling this out of a bag or off the six o’clock news. One of my friends said she had children showing up for kindergarten who didn’t know what to do with a book.

 

[JonNC]

Islam, Hindusim, etc. is so not relevant to a child who can not read, write, perform and understand basic math functions and think critically. How is a teacher supposed to cram in the PC training when so many kids lack proficiency in these basics, not to mention arts education? Do we keep them in school (i.e., away from their mothers and fathers, assuming their one of the lucky few to still have both parents in the home) more hours every day?
I have friends who teach public school, so I’m not just pulling this out of a bag or off the six o’clock news. One of my friends said she had children showing up for kindergarten who didn’t know what to do with a book.

Where you start isn’t where you end. Of course we start with basics, then we use them to expand children 's minds and world. Before the term "liberal " was co-opted to mean something different than its classical meaning, we talked Bout a broad liberal arts education. That’s what children need: cultural literacy

Jon